** SOLD ** Car sold 9/10



For sale is my 1997 Volvo V90 wagon with a GM LS1 engine (350hp/360tq) and Tremec T-56 6-speed manual transmission. Asking $11,400... not exactly cheap but not cheaply built. Located in SE Michigan, will ship at buyers expense.

Very fun & comfortable car with effortless power. Swap was done by a gentleman named Mike Kornely from Massachusetts and it's done properly with attention to detail, build documented on turbobricks forum. The car is very well sorted and I have made many improvements to bring the car to a higher level in terms of performance and reliability. Standout upgrades include Kaplhenke Racing coilover suspension, Eaton TrueTrac LSD, and Griffin radiator with shrouded dual puller fans. This car brings a big stupid grin to my face everytime I drive it and is always a crowd favorite at cars & coffee meets. I've used this a daily driver on sunny days and it has never let me down. No check engine lights, fires right up and drives fantastic. Goes like hell and holds its own in the corners, but retains the "luxury" feel of a V90. Nearly identical weight as stock V90 but now DOUBLE the powaaa! Unfortunately the time has come to sell it to make room for another toy/project car. Considering the condition of the car, quality of the swap, and cost of the components put into this car, you honestly couldn't build it for this price and I'm losing a lot on it.

Body & Chassis: 1997 Volvo V90 wagon, rare Blackberry Metallic paint, tan leather interior, 148k miles. No rust, paint is very good, very few minor dings and scratches but overall extraordinary for 19 year old car. Interior is overall very good, some blemishes typical of '90s Volvos (cracks in passenger airbag cover, wrinkling of door card vinyl, cracks front seat leather). Has rear-facing seat and seat belts, child booster seat integrated into 2nd row armrest. Most everything functions properly except for the cruise control and stock temp gauge (both due to engine swap incompatibility). Front & rear suspension have been thoroughly refreshed. Refurbished steering rack. Newer front brakes. Wheels are 16" Columba style from 850 Turbo... perhaps a bit small for the power but keeps the sleeper look intact! It had 17" S60R Pegasus wheels but too much rubbing especially with coilovers.

Engine & Cooling: Engine is from a 2004 GTO, 5.7L LS1 aluminum block with approximately 50k miles. Engine mounts are custom made using 1" aluminum mated to GTO mounts. Intake is a K&N FIPK from a GTO. Exhaust is custom dual 2.5" mandrel bent tubing through two 100-cel cats into an Edelbrock muffler exiting into a single 3", then through a three-pass turbo style muffler out through the original opening in the bumper for that sleeper look. Deep rumble and aggressive under throttle, but not loud or droning. I installed a custom Griffin aluminum dual-pass 3" deep core radiator and dual Derale puller fans mounted in an aluminum shroud. Fans are controlled by a Derale PWM controller that kicks on around 205F. Coolant temp is consistently 200F on highway and rarely exceeds 210F in traffic. I also installed a Derale engine oil cooler with a thermostat in the filter sandwich adapter.

Drivetrain: T56 6-speed manual trans from 2004 GTO, Volvo crossmember adapted to GTO trans mounts. Brand new upgraded OEM LUK clutch for LS7 (Z06), new slave cylinder, master cylinder is from Tick Performance with 7/8" bore and adjustable pedal rod. Pedals are from a manual Volvo 700/900-series. Shifter is F-body solid shorty, Hurst leather shift ****, custom shift boot. Driveshaft is shortened V90 mated with GTO input shaft and was recently dynamically balanced. Rear end is a custom setup using an Eaton TrueTrac torsen LSD, Volvo 3:31 gears, and custom machined output flanges from Swedish company BakAxel. I retained the Volvo IRS 1065 cast iron housing and I turned the diff carrier on lathe to fit stock Volvo speedo ring. Axle shafts are flange-style from a '94 940. It was a very expensive endeavor (not an off-the-shelf upgrade for V90 with IRS) and required a fair amount of engineering, but it was well worth it -- works great to put down power and has great drivability. Cruises at 70mph at 1900rpm.

Suspension: The V90 has one of the best suspensions Volvo has put onto a RWD car. The rear "MkII" IRS is an aluminum multi-link independent system with fiberglass transverse leaf spring, while the front uses MacPherson struts and has very similar geometry as the FWD models. I installed custom Kaplhenke Racing coilover struts with Koni adjustable inserts, 12" x 2.5" 275lb springs and adjustable camber plates. In the rear are Koni adjustable shocks. Ride height of front is stock to match rear. Body control is improved orders of magnitude over the floaty stock suspension, with only slightly stiffer ride quality. Really nice setup, very expensive but again worth it.

Electrical: GTO ECU is essentially acting as a standalone engine controller, with full OBD2 capability and seamless integration with body. Volvo tachometer works with signal conversion by Dakota Digital unit. Oil pressure and coolant temp are displayed by Autometer analog gauges in center stack (ashtray location). I have also installed an UltraGauge display that shows all engine ECU parameters, with programmable alarms (i.e. coolant temp) and full OBD scan capability. Pioneer CD headunit with Bluetooth.

Other:
I've put a lot of time & money into this car, and my priorities have been making sure it was mechanically robust. With that said, there are a few tasks that I have not had time to conquer yet:
- A/C compressor is currently not installed on engine. Stock GTO compressor interfered with body during swap and was removed for clearance but all other components are still on car (condenser, evaporator, dryer, hardlines, hoses). I have a set of low-profile low mount brackets from Alan Grove Components for a Sanden SD7 compressor. I test fit a stock Volvo compressor (also a Sanden SD7) and it had plenty of clearance but the ports were not ideal to use in this location with the Volvo hoses. I was planning to use a Sanden 4665 compressor ($180 on eBay) with standard O-ring ports and have a shop crimp on proper end fittings to Volvo hoses.
- Heater core leaks, has been bypassed. After flushing the cooling system during new radiator install, I must have dislodged the magic unicorn turd sealing the heater core and immediately noticed coolant smell in cabin. I bypassed the core and pulled the carpets to dry everything out, no problem. Unfortunately now the car has no heat until the heater core can be replaced. Not a pleasant job, but not overly difficult DIY either.
- There is a 3" tear in the driver's seat cushion leather. I have tried to find a replacement seat or cover but there is nothing local to me to pick from. Not a big deal but I'm kinda OCD about things like that!

Also included in sale, if buyer wants them, are:
- Volvo OEM vehicle cover, all-season
- Stock struts (with springs) and shocks
- Stock 1065 rear end, 3.73 gears, and axle shafts
- Volvo repair manual CD (not great coverage for 960/V90 series, but better than nothing)
- Wiring diagrams for LS1, maintenance binder with all receipts, any other spare parts I have for the car
(inclusion of spare parts may need to be negotiated with transport company if vehicle shipped)

 

Over 100 photos are car located here:
vishmutzy's albums - Imgur

 

This car has been on the exclusive auto auction site Bring A Trailer twice, which attests to its uniqueness and quality:

http://bringatrailer.com/2011/10/21/...lvo-v90-wagon/

http://bringatrailer.com/listing/199...t56-six-speed/




Here's a writeup I did on building the Eaton TrueTrac LSD and installing into the V90's 1065 IRS differential housing. Not exactly a plug & play swap but the end result is perfectly integrated and a much needed drivetrain upgrade for the performance of the powertrain.

How To: TrueTrac LSD diff in IRS axle housing - Turbobricks Forums

 

Here's a video of the car:

 

Sale pending.
I will update listing if car sells on Saturday 9/10.

 

Car is sold. Thanks for the interest.